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The Gungan Grand Army proceeded to move out of its hiding place in the Swamps, they had licked the wounds of the Naboo Swamp Battle and were ready to take back what was theirs. The Federation's actions during the previous battle reflected little more than a massacre. Many civilians were killed during the evacuation of Otoh Gunga, leaving many militiagungs without a family, and without a home. General Ceel planned on taking position along Shaak Ridge, where the Gungan | GunganSentient Species | energy catapults could hold off the Droid Army. The Grand Army had moved into their position by midday, taking up much of the level part of the Great Grass Plains 40 kilometers south of Theed, where Captain Tarpals | Tarpals(Gungan)CharacterMinor Characters | ordered the activation of their shield generators, set upon the backs of the fambaas | FambaaCreatureNon-sentient | . The army was encased in an enormous dome approximately one kilometer wide, impervious to any bombardment. They were still close enough to the swamps to allow a retreat if it came to that. The Grand Army had formed command units, each led by a General. OOM-9's forces, freshly away from Theed, had arrived before Ceel along Shaak Ridge, forcing the Gungans to forgo the tactically superior high ground. Remaining in the valley reduced the effectiveness of the Gungan's catapults. The Droid Army descended from the hills into the valley, in a mile-long formation of Armored Assault Tanks | AATGround VehicleVehicles | escorting Multi-Troop Transports | MTTGround VehicleVehicles | , with Platoon Attack Craft held in reserve. The Droid division settled into position, facing the massive Grand Army. OOM-9 commenced a preliminary bombardment, firing on the Gungans' shields, with his AATs, to little effect.After a while, OOM-9, atop his enhanced personal tank, ordered the other AATs to hold fire. The Gungans believed the battle to be won. The tanks fell back, and with an order from the Droid Control Ship | Vuutun Palaa(Lucrehulk-class Battleship)StarshipNamed Starships | transmitted via a top-secret frequency, the Federation's MTTs unloaded thousands of battle droids | B1 Battle DroidDroid | , much to the horror of the Gungans. The B1 battle droids slowly marched in units of 56 droids through the Gungan shield and commenced fire on the unprotected militiagungs. The Gungans, led by General Ceel and Bombad General Binks | Jar Jar Binks(Gungan)CharacterSupporting Characters | , fought with personal shields, catapults, boomas, and cestas; the Grand Army clobbered dozens of battle droids. The Gungan energy catapults launched large plasma boomas at the droid ranks, but they could not halt the persistent droid march. A squad of P-series destroyer droids | DroidekaDroid | rolled onto the bloodied battleground, further increasing Gungan casualties as the MTTs moved in to trap the Grand Army. Ultimately, the shield generator was destroyed by concentrated droid fire, deactivating the protective dome. OOM-9 immediately called upon all AATs, battle droids, STAPs | Single Trooper Aerial Platform (STAP)Ground VehicleVehicles | , to advance. Tank shells now ripped unobstructed into the Gungan lines, tearing up the previously untouched Great Grass Plains. While the Gungan catapults had a large area of effect, they had a slow firing rate, and they were nearly useless when in motion, and Gungan ranks fell to the mechanized Trade Federation Army; the two armies engaged each other at close range among several ruins and mounted laser cannons. Approximately 50 minutes into the battle, Gungan command units broke up under the assault while individual Gungans carried out desperate counterattacks against the droids and tanks. General Ceel shortly ordered a retreat, and the Gungan Grand Army turned back toward the swamps, but soon Generals Ceel and Terpals, alongside Binks were also captured. Kaadu units rescued the Gungan wounded while other Gungans stood against the droids to cover the retreat, managing to destroy several more AATs in the process. With the battle turning in their favor, the battle droids set about gathering the captured Gungans into groups while Federation PK droids picked up scattered weapons. OOM-9 had planned on flanking the retreating the Grand Army to prevent escape, but this plan was thwarted by the destruction of the other two Droid Army divisions. By the end of the battle, 543 Gungans lay dead, although over half of the Grand Army escaped back into the swamps. Despite a crushing defeat for the Gungans on the Great Grass Plains, events altered dramatically when the Droid Control Ship over the planet was destroyed by Anakin Skywalker | Anakin Skywalker(Human)CharacterMajor Characters | , deactivating the droid army, and leaving the Gungan survivors instantly liberated from their recent capture. They watched awestruck as their droid captors and enemy vehicles all around them suddenly shut down, realizing that while their own battle had been lost, the battle above them | Battle over NabooEventTwilight of the Republic | must have been won. They promptly celebrated by tipping over the deactivated droids.Read more... |
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